Budapest Régiségei 36. (2002) – In memoriam Rózsa Kalicz-Schreiber (1929-2001)
Aspes, Alessandra - Fasani, Leone - Visentini, Paola: The late neolithic and the early metal age in Northern Italy = Észak-Itália a késői neolitikumban és a korai fémkorban 175-190
ALESSANDRA ASPES - LEONE FASANI - PAOLA VISENTINI with impressions or otherwise referred to as Black Breno. 9 This decorative technique appears in some complexes, such as for example that of Coren Pagà 10 and Castello di Breno. 11 Copper artefacts appear for the first time with the style of incisions and impressions of Square Mouthed Pottery Culture. In all probability they represent imported items, as in the present state of knowledge there is no evidence known of metal casting from this period. For the chronological period referred to as Late Neolithic, characterised by cultural aspects of a Neolithic tradition in which clear elements emerge which anticipate the phase connected to metallurgy it seems possible to identify in the eastern area which includes Friuli, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige a cultural aspect characterised by aspects of the tradition of the Cultures of Lagozza and that of Square Mouthed Pottery Culture in decline and of elements which may be linked once again to the north-alpine Culture. On the basis of stratigraphie data from Fiavè, the first phase attributed to the Late Neolithic seems to be characterised by truncated, cone-shaped and cylindrical vessels mainly decorated with plastic motifs such as impressed and plain cordons and plain and impressed bosses (Fig. 4). u This period may also be recognised in levels 3 and 4 of Isera la Torretta, a multilayered site in the Trento area, 13 at Castelaz di Cagnö (Trento), 14 in level R of Romagnano (Trento), 15 at Colombare di Negrar (Verona), 16 at Passo del Piccon (Verona) 17 and at Palu di Livenza (Pordenone). 18 This cultural aspect has been dated by C 14 samples from Fiavè l 19 and for Romagnano 20 which identify its chronological range as being between 3580 and 3520 B.C. 21 THE EARLY METAL AGE While the scenario of the Late Neolithic appears today to be in the course of being defined from the cultural and chronological point of view, on the other hand this is not the case for the period which includes a good part of the III millennium B.C. and which corresponds to the so-called Eneolithic or Chalcolithic 9 FEDELE-ODONE 1999 «FERRARI-PESSINA 1997 11 FEDELE-ODONE 1999 12 PERINI 1994 13 PEDROTTI 1986; DE MARINIS-PEDROTTI 1997 14 PERINI 1973 » PERINI 1971 16 FASANI 1980; BAGOLINI 1984 17 BACOLINI1980 18 CORTI 1998; VISENTINI in press »ETH-12498 4950±55 BE 20 R-775 4810±50 BP 21 Some of the eleven dates available for the Palù di Livenza (CORTI 2001) also occur within the chronological range defined. phase. This seems to be due to the scarcity of data that we possess: limited by both quantity 22 and chronological uncertainty given that significant series of absolute dating are lacking for the various aspects which characterise the period 23 . The discovery in September 1999 of the Sirnilaun man gave rise however, to a significant reawakening of studies and research on the period being investigated. Up until a few decades ago the most representative faciès of the Eneolithic of northern Italy consisted of the Remedello cemetery It is a burial complex which originally constituted of about 200 burials of which today only a little more than half are preserved. The most significant aspect of this complex is the frequency among the burial remains of large flint daggers, copper axes and daggers and arrowheads also defined as Remedellian. This faciès consists substantially of elements of various traditions which seem to confirm the presence of prevalently western components; the most relevant aspect seems to be represented by 'metope" ware which, for many authors, may be compared with the Fontbouisse Culture in southern France (Fig. 5). Links with the western world may be confirmed by the present distribution of the 'metope style" ceramics in northern Italy as elements have been found in western Veneto, Trentino, Valle D'Aosta, Liguria and Piedmont (Fig. 6). That the Eneolithic represented a very dynamic period culturally is also confirmed by its presence in western Emilia in the Spilamberto cemetery (Modena) and by some habitations which may be assigned to the same cultural stream 24 . Single-handled jugs generally appear among the grave remains of the cemetery which may be compared with cultures from the Tyrrhenian area, in particular with those of Gaudo and Rinaldone, as well as vessels with scale ('à squame") decoration, which relate to the Adriatic peninsular area (Fig. 7). The present state of knowledge indicates that scale decorated pottery would have reached northern Italy up along the Adriatic coast), 25 spreading in a consistent manner throughout Emilia-Romagna and more sporadically within Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont. Common elements among the Remedello and Spilamberto group are the arrowheads and flint and copper daggers which however, seem to have a broader diffusion than just within the Po Basin area. 22 For the Eneolithic of Northern Italy we have few data for settlements and the information inferred from the cemeteries to date, are rare notes which may be correlated to the latter. 23 Some radiocarbon dating series presently available for the Eneolithic of northern Italy which constitute a good starting point do not seem convincing. 24 The Spilamberto faciès may be chronologically collocated from a dating obtained from a carbon sample from site X (1-11816 4195+95 BP) which has given the following result 2890-2620 B.C. ^BAGOLINI 1981 176
